Calling All Shutterbugs – PhotoIreland Festival Returns this July

The annual PhotoIreland Festival takes place this July in and around Dublin.

Celebrating Ireland’s photographic talents, as well as welcoming international artists and practitioners to the city, the festival, established in 2010, is the only one solely dedicated to photography in the country.

Ireland’s international festival of Photography and Image Culture aims to highlight, promote and elevate photography here, as well as reinforce its importance.

With the motto ‘vibrant, friendly and all-inclusive: a festival for all to enjoy’, the event, run by PhotoIreland, a volunteer led organisation dedicated to stimulating a critical dialogue around photography in Ireland, sets out to raise awareness of local and international photographers and to underline the work of those organisations and individuals who have been promoting an engagement with the medium for years.

Each year, the festival has taken place in more than 40 locations around Dublin, including the National Botanic Gardens, Dun Laoghaire Pier, Moxie Studios and well-established venues such as the Gallery of Photography and the National Photographic Archive.

Some essential parts of the month-long programme are the Book & Magazine Fair, The Library Project (a unique public resource library focused on the photobook, which opened in 2013) and the portfolio reviews, as well as a series of themed workshops and talks.

The official launch of the festival takes place on 2nd July and main exhibitions include work by Dominic Hawgood, Christiane Peschek, Jigeum, Eamonn Doyle, Katrin Koennig and an exhibition presented by the Australian Centre for Photography.

There are some free guided tours during the festival which need to be booked in advance and attendees can find more information on the festival website.